GRADUAL

I. noun Usage: often capitalized Etymology: Middle English, from Medieval Latin ~e, from Latin gradus step; from its being sung on the steps of the altar Date: 15th century a book containing the choral parts of the Mass, a pair of verses (as from the Psalms) proper after the Epistle in the Mass, II. adjective Etymology: Medieval Latin ~is, from Latin gradus Date: 1658 proceeding by steps or degrees, moving, changing, or developing by fine or often imperceptible degrees, ~ly adverb ~ness noun